China may ban Catholics from 2008 Olympics
ICC Note: More details on groups banned from 2008 Olympics by Chinese Government
BEIJING – 1 June 2007 – 300 words
6/2/07 China (Independent Catholic News) – China ‘s Ministry of Public Security has issued a directive listing 43 categories of ‘unwanteds’ who are to be investigated and may be barred from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Falun Dafa Information Centre reports.
The banned groups will include members of religious groups not sanctioned by the state, including the underground Catholic and other Christian churches…”family members of deceased persons” killed in “riots” — a euphemism for events such as the Tiananmen Massacre — and Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang province, which the regime brands “national separatists.”
Foreign athletes, members of the media, Olympic staff members, referees, sponsors, dignitaries, and the International Olympic Committee itself, will all be investigated, to determine whether they fall into any of the 43 categories
In theory Chinese law guarantees a degree of religious freedom, but the Communist government forbids all worship outside state-backed “patriotic” religious groups which it effectively controls .
